


A Second Chance

by MeAndMyGaster



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Carrot's POV, Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Head Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, No More Resets (Undertale), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Spicyhoney - Freeform, Temporary Amnesia, Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underfell Sans (Undertale), Underswap Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), because i don't know where I'm going with this one, tagging as explicit because I plan writing smut later on, this is going to turn into slice of life, underswap post-pacifist world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-04-24 17:32:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19178083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeAndMyGaster/pseuds/MeAndMyGaster
Summary: The Barrier broke not so long ago and Carrot is already in the middle of relocating with his brother to the Surface. There's still a lot to be done and with his low energy levels, things are going slowly. The last thing he needed was an additional complication - a dangerous skeleton monster he met once before who is now supposed to be his patient.How hard a person has to hit their head to lose all their memories?





	1. "I'm sorry, brother, but I hit him so hard on the head that he seems to not remember who he really is and I simply couldn't leave him in his world like that."

**Author's Note:**

> Do you have a moment to listen about our Lord and Savior Spicyhoney? 
> 
> Aaaa, I finally did it! The first chapter is done! Hope my take on all the skeletons, their relationships, and the main ship will be a fun read! It's just a beginning so I'm not sure how long it will be but I'm trying to make this a shorter story (as opposed to my 250k words slowest burn to slow). Can't wait to write more!

Carrot let out a startled yelp when a loud bang echoed in the bathroom. Once again, their bathroom rack almost gave him a soul attack by falling off the tiled wall and spilling all its contents into the tub. No matter how many times the sucking discs gave under the not so impressive weight of the rack, the lanky skeleton still couldn’t get used to this. Surprisingly, his brother never complained about it. Perhaps the universe liked to pull a prank only on him? That seemed to fit the world’s overall theme.

With a hand firmly pressed to his chest, Carrot took a few shaky breaths to calm himself down and grabbed a towel. It seemed that he didn’t need to splash his face with cold water any further - right now he was far from being groggy after the nap.

Shaking his head at his own jumpiness, he left the bathroom and approached the stacks of boxes and items lying around the living room. There was still so much to be done he felt tired just by thinking about it. At the same time though, he really wanted to be on the Surface with all their belongings already.

They were almost the only ones left in Snowdin, mostly because of Berry’s busy schedule with his Guard duties. It had been three months since the Barrier broke and the whole Underground was buzzing with eagerness to leave. Carrot included.

He was up there only a few times and he missed the fresh air and the limitless sky over his head...

A sigh escaped him when Carrot went back to wrapping the cups and glasses into the old NTT magazine pages. Soon. Soon they would both be on the Surface, free to do what they dreamed about for most of their lives. Just a few days, a dozen of boxes, a whole lot of bags and a ton trips to the dimensional boxes.

Carrot was really glad he didn’t have to carry it all by himself.

Just as he finished securing the box and stacked it on the top of three others, he heard his brother’s heavy boots shuffle behind the front door. He glanced at the clock, worried his nap lasted longer than he anticipated, but it turned out that Berry was home much earlier than he previously said.

With hands in his hoodie’s pockets, Carrot rounded the mess in the middle of the living room, hoping this didn’t mean their relocation was postponed again.

“Pap... don’t freak out, alright?” rang the strong voice just as the door began opening.

“Why would I fr-” Carrot was about to answer but his words died in his throat.

A familiar looking, tall and menacing monster stood in the doorway and Carrot almost fell over the bags sitting on the floor when he staggered back on impulse. The only thing that made him stop for a second and not run away towards the back door in the kitchen was the fact that his brother was standing right next to the said monster.

“I told you _not_ to freak out...” Berry said with exasperation and closed the door behind himself and the other skeleton.

Carrot had a huge urge to just yank his brother away from the known danger that just stood there in their home. It’s been a few weeks since their last and only encounter with that dusty and dark universe and he still felt tense when he walked through the Snowdin Forest in the evenings. The last monster he thought he would see in their living room would be the one that attacked them not that long ago.

“Wh-... that’s...,” he stammered, looking between Berry and the scary skeleton.

Just when the first flare of fear began to subside from his mind, Carrot noticed more details. For starters, the menacing looking monster was wrapped from head to middle in a blanket that did nothing to hide the bulk of the spiky armor he wore. The colorful fish print didn’t help either. Additionally, both skeletons standing in front of him looked tousled and the smaller one held the other one’s hand as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“First, we’ll find you a place to sit, yeah?” Berry tugged the scary skeleton towards their couch and quickly moved the stacks of folded clothes to the side to make room. “Here, isn’t that better?”

This was the moment Carrot realized the other skeleton hadn’t spoken a word since he arrived and that seemed... worrying. His confused staring was interrupted by Berry, who grabbed him by the elbow and hauled towards the kitchen’s archway.

“See... I... uh... went to their world,” the smaller skeleton began in a slightly hushed tone while still eyeing their guest. “And it kind of didn’t work like I thought it would.”

Carrot was speechless at the sheer carelessness in his brother’s tone. He spoke about it as if describing that snow was white and cold.

He gestured helplessly at the hunched figure on their couch and glared at Berry. “It still doesn’t explain what I’m seein’!”

Berry shushed him and dragged him deeper into the kitchen. “Not that loud. I’m getting there, sheesh...,” he complained but seeing Carrot’s expression, he started talking. “We _fought_ , okay? It got out of control and he fell and... I think there was a stone under the snow. He hit his head hard...”

He wrung his leather gloves and leaned to the side to glance at the scary skeleton. Carrot followed his gaze and his brows furrowed yet again. His soul wasn't exactly happy to see this dangerous monster under their roof but there was something unnerving in how docile he acted right now. Not that he wanted to see this one use his magic against them again, but still... it felt wrong.

“... I didn’t want to leave him there like this. He seemed... confused... when he came to. Asked where he was and all that,” Berry muttered.

Carrot rubbed his face with both of his hands and let out a defeated sigh. “... and you thought to bring him _here_ , of all places...”

His brother shrugged. “Well, yeah? Where else? Most of the healers are outside already and you’re the best one I know that is still downstairs.”

“Why were you even there?” he fought to keep his voice lowered but the whole gravity of the situation and the danger his brother put himself in was dawning on Carrot. This was enough to stir irritation in his soul.  “We agreed we won’t be comin’ back cause it’s too dangerous! _You_ agreed!”

“I know! I know!” Berry assured and wrapped his arms around himself, looking away. “I just... we were going to the Surface. I thought that... that their world maybe should go with us, you know?”

When Carrot didn’t answer he shrugged again. “It felt unfair to leave them there.”

He felt his irritation cease to grow for a moment. No matter what had happened in the other universe, he still firmly believed that all the monsters deserved the Surface... and maybe this freedom was something that would change even the most rotten worlds they had seen. But there were other ways to go about that than confronting an aggressive skeleton. Alone. Without telling him about this.

He looked at the monster sitting tamely on the couch and impulsively touched his own right humerus, almost feeling the phantom pain of the scar etched into the bone. _What if_ something happened again? _What if_ his brother got hurt instead of this guy?

Berry must have noticed this gesture because his tone got softer. “I wouldn’t bring him here if I thought he’s too dangerous.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Carrot pulled his hand away and grimaced. “So what now...? I’m supposed to patch him up and set him free like a wounded whimsun?”

“Pretty much, yes,” a smile returned to his brother’s face.

Carrot didn’t even fight with the urge to roll his eye lights. He should have been used to cleaning after Berry’s mess already but this was the first time he went so overboard. He wasn’t eager to doing it this time but... did he have any choice?

“ _Fine_ ,” he huffed reluctantly after a pregnant pause. “I’ll see what I can do but if he gets bitey I’m out and he’s on your head.”

“Alright! I owe you a big one!” In all his excitement, the smaller skeleton punched him happily in the arm. “I need to report to Al, I promised I help her coordinate shit upstairs.”

“ _Ow_?” Carrot hissed and rubbed his shoulder. “And language.”

With a laugh, Berry was already out of the kitchen. “Too bad he swear jar is already packed!”

“Just come back quick, ‘kay?” Carrot followed him to the living room, still eyeing his ‘patient’.

Hearing the two brothers approach, the scary skeleton raised his head to look at them, his red eye lights dull and unfocused. The blanket he was previously covered was now pooled around his shoulders, uncovering a skull wrapped in a bandage and the banged-up black armor.

“Yes, yes. I will,” the smaller skeleton looked at the monster he hauled with him from another universe. “I’m going to leave you with my brother. He’ll take care of you, so be good.”

Carrot rolled his eyes again, keeping his distance from the other skeleton.

“... Sans...?”

The magic around the smaller skeleton was already building up, buzzing in the air. “Yeah?”

“When I say ‘go die’ when you keep winnin’ the race...” Carrot said with a nervous smirk. “... I don’t actually mean ‘travel to another universe and find the biggest bastard to fight with’, you know?”

“Could have fooled me,” Berry laughed and just like that, he disappeared.

Leaving him with the problem at hand.

The scary skeleton was staring right through him and Carrot wondered if he was even registering another person in the room. The monster was already slumped on the armrest of the couch as if it was hard for him to sit upright and his eye lights looked even duller.

It seemed that Carrot shouldn’t linger any longer and get to the healing part of this unsatisfactory situation.

Still wary that the tame demeanor would do a 180 at any given moment, Carrot slowly approached the couch without taking his eyes off the monster. As he sat next to him, his eye lights flickered to the bandage. His brother did a pretty good job of wrapping the skeleton’s head with it, to be honest. There was still some to be desired with the amount... but maybe he shouldn’t blame him for using up two rolls on an injury he was unable to heal himself. Better safe than sorry, yeah?

“‘kay...,” he muttered awkwardly while staring at his patient. “Lemme see what’s goin’ on, hrm?”

No answer didn’t bode well but at least the big skeleton didn’t seem particularly aggressive. Or responsive.

When he touched the bow holding one bandage together, he startled when the monster next to him flinched. It almost made him scramble away from his patient but Carrot just froze, cautiously eyeing the other’s face. Only now he noticed his expression was scrunched up in something else than an angry scowl and his breathing, while barely audible, was shallow and slightly ragged. He seemed to be in pain.

Since nothing happened, his fluttering soul settled a little and he cleared his proverbial throat. “Uh... it’s ok...” he reassured in a nervous tone. “I’m just gonna take a look... I’ll take that off.”

Careful not to aggravate any injuries that might be hidden under the layers of bandage, he managed to unwrap the first one without further issues. The second one seemed to be stained with dried marrow on the back of the monster’s head and Carrot wasn’t willing to risk unsticking it by force. By the size of the stain, he could already gauge that the injury wasn’t small.

“Alright... I’ll be right back. Just gonna get..,” halfway through his sentence, Carrot realized there’s not much sense saying anything more to his patient. He seemed somewhat aware there was something happening around him but that was it.

With a worried frown, he got up to get necessary things from the kitchen. Most of it was packed but he didn’t have the strength to pack everything today. It would be a chore to dig what he needed out now. Thankful for small blessings, Carrot grabbed a bowl of water and tossed a clean kitchen towel over his shoulder before stuffing the first aid kit under his arm. He really hoped the whole thing would end with a fresh bandage and nothing more.

It took some careful ministrations to soak the dried marrow on the bandage and safely remove it but after a while, Carrot was able to take a good look at his patient’s head. His whole skull was full of scars, nicks, and scrapes. Most of them seemed old and well past his magic abilities to heal them, especially the three deep gashes on the top. Carrot winced to himself, not that eager to think about what could have left those scars.

The big skeleton didn’t resist in the slightest when he carefully pushed him forward to take a proper look at the back of his skull.

There it was, plain as day. The web of cracks originating from one point was pretty extensive and only by some miracle, no bone was chipped away. Perhaps his brother’s instinct to use so much bandage wasn’t that off after all.

He had to take a deep breath, already feeling how much energy he would have to spend to at least seal up the biggest crack in the very middle. Maybe if he did that in smaller parts and took breaks, he could heal it up nicely so it wouldn’t get worse? He needed to stay positive.

“Uh... this... looks bad,” Carrot muttered. “I’m gonna heal you, buddy. Anythin’ against it?”

Silence. He didn’t expect to get an answer but he had to make sure.

“Alright... here goes nothin’,” he breathed and slowly placed one hand on his patient’s forehead to stabilize his skull. The other hand gently cupped the area with the crack, magic already thrumming in Carrot’s bones, getting ready to be used.

Not sure how the scary skeleton would react to his magic, he released it very slowly, allowing it to seep into the wound in a steady but weak stream. It was harder to focus than usual - his patients were never terrifying monsters that attempted to kill him after all. His intent wasn’t that positive and he felt the drain in his soul when his energy was flowing a tad erratically to the other’s wound.

His concentration wavered with a start when he noticed that the big skeleton started to tip towards him, almost as if...

His brow bones knit in compassion and he found it easier to find proper intent to heal the monster that was leaning into his touch. No matter what the other did before, he was now hurt and vulnerable, and Carrot wouldn’t call himself a monster if he didn’t at least try to help him. Being indifferent to somebody’s suffering wasn’t his thing.

“It’s alright. I’ve got you,” he murmured as he absent-mindedly tried to grab a stack of his shirts to use as a makeshift pillow for the larger monster.

Carrot gently guided the other, making sure his patient wouldn’t collapse onto the floor, still keeping his hand on the crack. Too occupied with keeping the magic flowing, he miscalculated the size of the other skeleton and ended up with the scarred head in his lap. It... wasn’t what he wanted. At all.

Despite being pinned down by the heavy head, he didn’t squirm, wary not to hurt the skeleton with his nervous movements. He let out a sigh, trying to get rid of the tension that was absolutely not helping him in his magical ministrations, and leaned forward to look at the other’s face.

His expression looked more relaxed now, his eye sockets were closed and with his breathing steady and slow, the big skeleton seemed asleep. The sight itself was very bizarre to Carrot but it’s not like he had a chance to see the other monster in other circumstances than aggressive and absolutely terrifying. Now... he looked tired and defeated, especially with all the scars and dark circles under the eye sockets.

With a little more determination, Carrot dialed up his healing, positive that the monster in his lap wouldn’t mind feeling better faster. In response, he heard only a slightly deeper sigh coming from the big skeleton and involuntarily smiled. It’s the little things he learned to be proud of.

“Hope you’re gonna be grateful, not murdery...” he muttered in a tired tone and leaned back on the couch, absentmindedly placing his other hand on his patient’s vertebrae.

Carrot closed his eye sockets, focusing on his task. Knowing he was far from taking a nap in these circumstances, he made sure the rest of his energy for the day would be used well. He didn’t even notice that he started tracing his fingers along the scars etched deep in the bone.

After a while, when he felt it was enough, he slowly dissipated his magic and moved his hand away to check on the wound. It was still there - big, jarring and probably painful as hell. For a brief moment he thought about trying to heal even more but a familiar pang in his soul told him that this is a very bad idea. He was done for now and all he could do was to wait for his brother to come back. Hopefully, he would be home sooner rather than later.

God, he was so tired right now. He probably wouldn’t be able to continue packing without at least a proper nap, though a full-night sleep would be preferable. It’s been a while since he had to do so many things during the day and heal somebody on top of it.

Careful not to jostle the wounded skull he had in his lap, Carrot squirmed a little and winced. The spiky pauldron his patient was wearing was currently poking him in the femur at a very unfortunate angle and that was beginning to feel painful. He thought about moving away again and stuffing more shirts under the big skeleton’s head to free himself. It could work if he didn’t feel so spent at the moment.

With a huff, he leaned forward again and grabbed the edge of the fish-printed blanket between two fingers to lift it up a little. Maybe there was a way to remove the pauldrons without causing too much movement? Carrot could bet it was far from comfortable to sleep with all the armor on, so taking off at least one part could make it easier for both of them.

Very slowly and carefully, he reached towards the rim of the pauldron and felt his way closer to the collar hidden under the red scarf. As far as he knew his brother’s armor, there had to be a way to remove those right around there. His fingertips rapped quietly against the metal in search for a clasp or a leather strap keeping the thing in place.

Finally, he felt something vaguely familiar under his fingers and tugged. With a soft click, that metal part moved there and the pauldron loosened a little.

Carrot almost choked on his triumphant grunt when a scarred hand snatched his wrist in a vice-like grip.

“ _What_... are you doing...?” the big skeleton rasped.


	2. “I’ve helped Happy Dummy with their loose stitches so I know what I’m talkin’ about when I say you’re the worst patient ever, oh my god!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Our lord and savior blessed me with inspiration this week (mostly thanks to SheeWolf85's fantastic writing!). Despite being on the roll with this one, I had a major issue in the middle. Thankfully, the always amazing Essy came to my rescue and helped me figure it out! <3
> 
> Our favorite angry pole and scaredy carrot finally have some... semi-equal interaction???
> 
> Also, Berry is Berry. Again!

 This was it. This was how he’s going to die.

That thought echoed loudly in his head as the scarred skeleton who pinned his trembling body to the couch stared at him, a scowl on his face. He had his much weaker wrist trapped in the strong grip that twisted his arm in an awkward angle. It hurt but Carrot had bigger worries to face than that.

“I won’t... repeat myself...,” the other growled at him. His eye lights seemed to die down and light up as if they were on the verge of guttering out but that didn’t make the angry glare any less terrifying. If anything, it looked almost unhinged.

“Y-you...” Carrot stuttered in a weak voice. “You seemed uncomfy! Thought I just... take it off. So you can rest better!”

The skeleton looming over him was breathing heavily as if the sole action of keeping a very compliant victim in his grip was tiring. His sharp teeth were parted and the air hissed between them in a slightly ragged rhythm. After what seemed to be forever, he loosened his grip but didn’t let him go.

“Who are you?” he asked, growl still present in his tone. “And where am I?”

The stare of the hazy red eye lights was heavy and insistent, so Carrot was very quick to answer. “Our house... I mean, my and my bro’s house. He brought you here. I patched you up. I’m a healer!”

Stars above and beyond, those eye lights were so intense.

Finally, the scarred skeleton released his wrist and pushed himself away from him. A few more seconds of that and Carrot was sure his soul would jump out of his ribcage from fright. Still terrified, he eyed the monster in front of him warily, not daring to move.

The other skeleton sat up and was currently looking around the living room which was littered with boxes, bags and half-packed belongings. Carrot noticed him wincing slightly but even if he was in pain, he didn’t move to touch the injury. His gloved hands were digging into the cushions next to his legs as he twisted in his seat to locate the front door.

Carrot cleared his non-existent throat on reflex and immediately regretted that. The other monster turned swiftly to face him, pinning him down again with the glare alone.

“Uh... do you... remember what happened?” he managed to croak, his voice still tiny and scared.

The only answer he got was a dismissive scoff and his not-that-patient patient pushed himself up...

... only to stagger as soon as he tried to take one step towards the door. He had to lean heavily on the couch to avoid collapsing into the closest stack of boxes.

“Whoa... whoa... careful!” Carrot gasped and scrambled to get up too. He reached towards the other monster, the lack of his self-preservation instinct be damned.

The moment he touched him, the scarred skeleton flinched and swatted his hand away. Somehow, this gesture seemed more erratic than aggressive. Probably because he lost his balance and needed to grab the couch yet again.

“I don’t need your help!” he hissed.

Carrot grit his teeth, too tired, scared and, frankly, too angry to filter his words this time. All of his healing, all the precious energy he spent would be wasted if the monster collapsed and hit his head again. 

“Coulda fooled me, with your head cracked open like an egg,” he snapped. 

The angry skeleton whipped his head to face him. “You-” 

His voice, however, died the same moment a clear grimace crossed his face. With a pained expression, he pressed a hand to his skull and grabbed Carrot’s humerus to keep his balance this time. 

The grip wasn’t painful but Carrot still froze for a moment, scared that this was just the beginning of something more unpleasant. Even when nothing happened and the scarred monster only leaned on him, he had to take a breath or two to calm himself down.

“You might trip... and make it worse,” Carrot mumbled, all his previous daring gone. 

“... I don’t...” the skeleton breathed loudly. “I don’t need as much help as you think. I’ve had worse.”

“Yeah... like when?” Carrot muttered in response, his mind reeling in search for something he could do to either save himself or calm the frantic monster. He would give his arm and leg now for his brother to be back home. 

“When I...” the other skeleton raised his head to glare at him but his voice trailed off and his eye sockets got wider. “I... When I...”

Well, _that_ wasn’t good. 

“It’s ok... you _really_ cracked your head open. A bit of confusion is normal,” Carrot took a shaky breath, hoping this new revelation wouldn’t only anger him more. “How about you sit down... right here?”

He tried to gently pull him down towards the couch, which proved impossible at first - the big monster was far too strong to be easily manhandled by such a wimp like himself. Thankfully, he relented and allowed Carrot to guide him to the cushions.

At least now the scarred skeleton looked less pissed, so Carrot counted this as a small win in this extremely stressful situation. On the other hand, the way he stared at his own hands seemed just... lost. For a moment, he wondered how much damage did the injury actually do to his head.

“You need to take it easy... And I need to rest too,” he tried speaking in a gentle manner, not really eager to see him flip again. “We have to wait one way or another, I’m sure my bro’s comin’ back soon.”

Or in an hour. On in two hours. Or just a minute too late. Every option seemed terrifying.

The other skeleton was still holding onto him, so Carrot couldn’t move away on his own even if he wanted to. And, by Stars, he wanted that very much. Every bone in his body screamed to put distance between him and the other monster.

“Maybe I’ll give you some spare clothes so you can change? Sounds good?” he asked.

With a shaky breath, Carrot quickly looked away to locate and grab a random shirt from the toppled stack, making an even bigger mess. He knew he would have to fold all of them once again when all this... _this_... was over. But honestly, he would do that gladly for hours if he could just get out of this alive.

Slowly, he tried to take advantage of the skeleton’s sudden daze to replace his own arm in the other’s grip with the shirt. “Here, I’ll leave you to it,” he muttered. 

It almost worked.

Carrot managed to free himself and was about to inch away from the skeleton and maybe bolt towards the kitchen when the red piercing gaze found him again.

“ _No_ ,” the skeleton barked at him. “You’re staying here.” There was a slight tremble in his voice but Carrot barely noticed that, too occupied with another jolt of fear in his soul.

Stiffly, he lowered himself back into the cushions right next to his patient, eye sockets wide. “Okay...? If that makes you feel better...”

“I don’t want you out of my sight,” the skeleton huffed at him and slowly raised his hands to his spiked pauldrons.

“... alright,” seemed the only reasonable answer.

He remained at his spot, high-strung and waiting for the situation to unfold. At some point, he caught himself staring at the other skeleton when he was already unbuckling the chest piece of his armor. With a flinch, he turned away not to invade what was left of his patient’s privacy. Not entirely sure what to do with his hands, he rubbed them idly against the cushions next to him.

This was awkward. Scary, first and foremost, but then awkward. His soul was still clenched tight from fright as if a cold hand was holding it in a merciless grip. At least he stopped being terrified to the point of freezing... he would gladly remove himself from this situation though. And probably sleep for a week, just to forget and recover.

Despite that, Carrot was also worried. If the monster hit his head hard enough not to remember something from his past, how bad was it really? His eye lights seemed to be affected, too, but it was hard to tell whether it was because of the concussion or the injury itself. The scarred skeleton seemed to see what was going on around him... at least to some degree. But was it really all?

Carrot dared to look at the other monster with the corner of his eye socket, his brow bones knit into an expression balancing somewhere between fearful and worried. He caught a glimpse of his bones just as he was pulling the shirt down to cover his ribs. Scarred ribs, just like the rest of his body.

Already frantic magic rushed to his cheekbones to form an ugly blush of embarrassment. Carrot quickly looked away again, berating himself for not waiting longer to avoid peeking at the other skeleton like this. The fact that the monster wanted him in the room when he changed and didn’t seem to be too modest about that didn’t make him feel better either.

“Hey...,” he began in a careful tone as soon as he was sure the magic on his face settled a bit. He felt the piercing stare on him again. “... since you’re up and runnin’, maybe we’ll check some things?”

“Things? What _things_?” the scarred skeleton’s voice was rough and still filled with aggression. Great. Good job on _not_ antagonizing him when he finally had calmed down.

He had half a mind to remain silent but one look at his patient’s angry face made him blurt out “... you prefer a book or a puzzle?”

“...what?” 

At least this question made him turn from permanently pissed off to... slightly confused? 

Besides, he looked weird without his armor and in the dull orange t-shirt with a cartoonish cloud printed in the middle of his chest. Weird as in less intimidating but still somehow very scary.

Carrot fidgeted on his spot and turned to face his patient. “Listen... you-you hit your head pretty hard. Like... really, _really_ hard. I’m sure a little harder and there would be a dent or worse. I just wanna make sure... just check how bad it is because you seem to... your memory...”

With every word that came from his mouth, the scarred skeleton seemed to glare at him with more hostility, so he decided to just shut up.

“But you _are_ going to heal me, right?” his patient asked after a few seconds of heavy silence, tone odd and low. 

Carrot let out a slow sigh. “Yeah, I... I just need more rest. And if it’s worse than I think I’ll...” he rubbed his own skull in the same spot his patient had that horrible crack and shuddered.  “I’ll... try to squeeze out more juice do that earlier.”

He disliked even thinking about that. Both about how painful the injury might be and how much energy it’s going to cost him to at least seal it. He hoped the other monster wouldn’t try to force him to do that.

The other skeleton went silent again, staring at him with those intense red eye lights. Gauging him? Wondering whether he was lying? There must have been something going through his cracked head because even though his eye lights were still flickering, the gaze alone seemed focused somehow.

“A puzzle,” he decided.

Carrot got up slowly and allowed himself to breathe a little deeper again when he was solid three meters away from the monster. Only when he started to dig around the boxes, he noticed that his hands were slightly shaking.

He tried not to take too long, still scared that patience wasn’t the other skeleton’s main virtue, and picked one of the puzzles that were fairly easy to complete (and to Carrot’s knowledge, didn’t lack any pieces). He didn’t need to know how good the other was in puzzles. He just wanted to check whether he was able to recognize colors and shapes and could fit the pieces into their proper places, nothing more. 

There was also a faint hope that something else to focus on would calm him down more, right?

As soon as he placed the puzzle in front of the scarred skeleton, he withdrew and moved to the armchair that was a fair distance from the couch. With a stack of boxes between the coffee table and his new seat, Carrot felt a little better in his impromptu ‘fortress’. Not that he thought a bunch of boxes was any help against a raging skeleton...

He willed himself not to look at the puzzle that was spilled on the table, trying to relax at least a bit and rest. It was... hard, if not impossible. He felt how tense his body was, how he kept his shoulders up in a defensive manner and how sweat had trickled slowly down his skull. His hands were still shaking, too. Not able to do anything about all that, he started nervously picking on the neon band he had around his wrist, tracing his brother’s phone number with the tip of his phalange. 

Would the scarred skeleton get mad if he tried calling Berry to get him home faster? He left his phone in the kitchen, as far as he remembered. Or maybe somewhere else. There was no way the other monster would allow him to leave the room to search for it, was there?

“Do you know what happened to me?” a sudden question spoken in a rough voice made him flinch on reflex.

He curled up a little more before looking at his patient. “...yeah.”

The other monster stared at him for a moment before tilting his head in a taunting manner. “Well?”

Carrot only blinked, trying to collect his thoughts to decide what to say. He might get angry if he refused to speak after all. On the other hand, something told him that “my brother beat you and now you’re here” would also make the other monster mad. There was no good answer to that.

“Tell me,” the scarred skeleton demanded.

“Uh...,” Carrot flinched again. “I... I prefer my brother does that? He brought you in, he has more details anyway...”

Despite his previous fears, the monster ended up only squinting at him for a moment and went back to the puzzle. Carrot just hoped his sigh of relief wasn’t too loud.

The time seemed to slow down now. Apart from the soft clicking of the other skeleton’s bones when he picked up a puzzle piece or tried to fit it where it belonged, the ticking of a clock hanging on the wall was the only sound echoing in the living room. The monster didn’t do anything to suggest he was still angry, which was all fine and dandy in Carrot’s opinion. What worried him, however, were those three times he closed his eye sockets for a few seconds and clenched the hand kept on the cushion.

Carrot didn’t dare to say anything about it though.

It took a while, but he managed to relax, even if just a little. A faint glimmer of hope that this silent cooperation was a sign the scarred skeleton wasn’t planning on hurting him helped. Maybe he finally realized that Carrot was trying to help him from the very beginning? That would be actually great, seeing how their interaction looked like not so long ago. Or... those few months ago.

Carrot squirmed in his seat, beginning to feel uncomfortable with his leg tucked under his coccyx and the pile of rolled up socks pressing against his ankle. The other monster raised his head to look at him, with very little hostility this time. His brow bones were still tightly knit into some sort of grimace mixed with a scowl.

They looked at each other for a pregnant moment but none of them said anything. Just as Carrot was about to break and open his mouth, he heard heavy boots at the front door.

Berry entered the living room shortly after, attracting the attention of the other two skeletons almost instantly. He was smiling.

“I knew I made a good decision bringing you here. You look better!” he addressed the injured monster in a chipper tone, who in turn took his time to eye the stocky skeleton from head to toes.

With a deep sigh of relief, Carrot started getting up from the armchair but was stopped by a finger pointing at him in an accusatory manner.

“You, however, look worse. Go back to being lazy,” Berry said, voice stern.

Carrot winced a little at this comment, now entirely certain he looked just like he felt. Which is exhausted. “... thanks, bro,” he muttered while settling back into the cushions and socks.

His brother looked at him for a moment, with the familiar glint in his eye lights, clearly looking for something. “You didn’t overdo it with the healing, did you?”

“Nope,” he answered, trying to not let the embarrassment show on his face once again. He was sure his brother knew better than to blurt out some incriminating things around strange people... but still, the topic was too close to the one he hoped to avoid around the scarred monster. Or anybody else for that matter.

Thankfully, Berry had different things to worry about at the moment than his energy levels. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked the other monster while taking his gloves off right where he was standing. 

“Your brother said you know what happened to me,” he answered, ignoring his polite question. There was a clear demand in his tone, something Carrot was already used to.

“Oh... yeah,” Berry wrung his gloves in his hands. “Maybe I’ll get us all some tea before we begin?”

The scarred skeleton’s patience was non-existent yet again. “No,” he huffed.

Carrot shook his head when Berry looked at him, this time wholeheartedly agreeing with his otherwise horrible patient. 

The gloves landed on the coffee table with a soft slap as the stocky skeleton let out a defeated sigh. “Alright, so...”

The whole story, despite being quite short and straightforward in Carrot’s opinion, took some time to be properly told from start to finish. The scarred skeleton listened to Berry’s words... or at least tried to. Carrot couldn’t blame him for asking for clarification time and again - his brother wasn’t the best storyteller - but he didn’t interrupt them and focused on watching the other monster.

The more questions Carrot heard, the more he suspected there were significant holes in the scarred skeleton’s memory, even though he clearly tried to hide it. Additionally, he did that thing with closing his eye sockets for a moment a few times too, making him wonder how badly the injury was affecting him right now. 

Carrot must have dozed off at some point, lulled into the half-conscious state by his brother’s familiar and soothing voice. Berry was a very strong monster after all, and he already beat their aggressive guest once... which meant he could do that again if need be. He was safe.

Only when the story ended and a silence fell over the room, he snapped back to reality and blearily focused on the other monsters.

“So... you did this to me,” the scarred skeleton stated, uncharacteristically calm for his previous demeanor.

“Technically that rock hidden in the snow is to blame...,” Berry gave him a wry smile. “But yes. I’m very sorry.”

“And I’m in... another universe,” he continued in the same tone as he looked in the mirror that Berry used to prove a point while discussing alternate worlds.

The stocky skeleton smiled. “Exactly!”

The staring contest the other monster had with his reflection lasted for a while.

“What... what are you going to do with me?” he finally asked, looking up at Berry. 

Seeing a confused frown on his brother’s face, Carrot joined the conversation for the first time. “Heal your noggin’, for starters...”

The other two skeletons focused on him, his Berry’s gaze conveying unspoken warning and worry. 

“Can’t do that all at once though, sorry...” he added in an awkward tone if only to placate his brother. He knew his limits, damn it.

The scarred monster put the mirror down with surprising care, the reflective surface facing the table. “And what then?”

“Uh...” he hesitated this time. They really didn’t think this situation through, did they?

“We could... well, I could go get your brother!” Berry pointed his finger up with a proud smile.

Carrot frowned at this. He had no idea that the scary skeleton even _had_ a brother. It was an alternate world, true, but they both had learned that the similarities between the universes weren’t constant. Which meant that Berry wandered to that world more than those two times he knew about...

He was about to call him out on that but promptly decided this wasn’t the time nor the place for their family issues. 

“My brother... in another universe?” their guest echoed.

Berry nodded.

“This is a very bad ide-,” Carrot grumbled but was interrupted by his brother.

“This is a great idea!”, he raised his voice and glared at him, hands firmly on his belt. “I would want to know _immediately_ if something happened to you, Pap. I bet his brother would want that, too.”

Carrot rubbed the neon band on his wrist idly and looked away with a grimace. 

“I can’t take you with me, though,” Berry worried, those words directed to the other monster. “If somebody attacked us there, you’d be defenseless.”

“I’m not defens-”

“You’re still recoverin’,” Carrot was quick to say. This idea was already one of the worst his brother had today. But with somebody who was barely standing to tag along and be a burden? Absolutely not. The mere thought made his soul flip. “You may not be defenseless even with a hole in your head but I also hope you’re not an idiot.”

“I’m not!” the scarred skeleton barked at him.

He should not have said that. 

Carrot closed his mouth firmly and cowered a little under the familiar but still far from pleasant glare.

“I’ll go get him right now and we’ll figure the rest later,” Berry stated in a cheerful manner as he rubbed his hands together, magic buzzing in the air. “The machine probably cooled down enough to use it twice in a row again.”

“Go take somebody with-”

The stocky skeleton disappeared.

“...- you,” Carrot finished, deadpan.

He covered his face with his hands and groaned. Yet again his brother decided to act first and think later, and Carrot had no way to catch up to him to fix that. Not only was he going to that world once more, without backup, but also he left him alone with an injured angry monster. Again.

Remembering he wasn’t alone in the living room, he looked through his fingers at the other skeleton, ready to face yet another fit of aggression after his previous comment. However, he was just staring back at him, expression hard to read.

Before any of them decided to move or say anything, the air buzzed wildly with magic. The scarred monster flinched and threw his arms up in a clearly defensive manner when Berry reappeared in the room.

“Smile!” he cheered after he had a clear shot on their guest and disappeared as soon as he took a photo of his dumbfounded face.

The whole thing lasted about three seconds, leaving both skeletons that remained in the room in a slight state of shock.

Carrot rubbed his eye sockets, getting rid of the tingly feeling his brother’s magic left in the air and cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“... so... how's the puzzle goin'?” he asked, very eager to stay away from their previous ‘chat’.

The other monster looked at the table in front of him. “Easily.”

“Oh... good,” Carrot leaned a little on reflex to see how much he was able to piece together already. 

In return, he felt a familiar chill that always ran down his spine when the scarred skeleton tried to murder him with the stare alone. He managed not to shudder this time and only rolled his eye lights before settling back on the armchair.

“I... it’s correct, right?” the skeleton asked after a while of silence.

Something in that tone made Carrot frown and look at the other monster. Surprisingly, his patient’s piercing red gaze was somewhere on the floor this time. 

Slowly, he untangled from his seat, spilling some socks on the floor in the process, and took those two steps closer to the table to look at the puzzle. The pattern seemed alright, though this monster started the puzzle from the middle, like a heathen.

“Yeah...” he confirmed after a short moment, his frown deepening. “Yeah, why?”

He still didn’t look back at him.

“It’s... hard to focus,” he admitted in a low tone.

Carrot let out a deep sigh. It was just his luck to get a patient that stubbornly jeopardized his own recovery on top of being aggressive and dangerous. “You should have told me...” 

“Maybe.”

“May-” his voice died down and he scoffed. “You know what? I stand corrected. You _are_ an idiot.”

That did the trick (but, in hindsight, was a very stupid thing to say) and the other monster whipped his head to glare at him once again. 

“How am I supposed to know!? It’s not like I can compare what I can or can’t do with how I was before!” he rose up, his hands gesturing wildly enough for Carrot to cower and take a step back. “I don’t remember _anything_!”

After those words rang in the air, he immediately closed his mouth with a click of his sharp teeth. A few breaths later, he lowered his arms and turned his head to look away.

Well, that answered some questions. But Stars, he was terrifying when he was pissed.

“Ok... that’s fair,” Carrot blurted out. “But I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s goin’ on, right? I’m the healer here, not you.”

The other skeleton took a deep breath and sat back on the couch, which Carrot took as a sign that his argument worked. For now. 

When the injured monster closed his eye sockets again, he didn’t ignore it this time.

“Does your head hurt?” he asked, trying to be more patient than rattled.

“A little...,” he heard a reluctant answer. 

“A little,” he echoed, thinking how to approach the worst patient he ever had. Was it really so hard for him to admit to being in pain? “Alright, do you want me to heal it a bit more now?”

This time, the hesitation lasted a little longer and the scarred face shifted from angry to something more defenseless. 

“... yes,” he said.

There goes nothing once again.

Carrot moved to sit on the couch and took a breath to calm his soul down. He felt how his magic stirred when he tried to gather those last few sparks of it he had left to share. As if understanding what he was planning, the other skeleton turned his way and leaned forward.

“So it hurts more than a little,” Carrot commented as he raised his hands.

Apparently, it was yet another wrong thing to say, because his patient backed away this instant with an irritated hiss. “No. I didn’t say that.”

At this point, Carrot was so done with everything.

“Oh my god, get your head back here right now!” he pointed in front of him. “I’m not gonna chase you around the house.”

As soon as those words left his mouth, he felt a pang of fear that the other monster would blow up at him again - and he was sitting way too close for that to end well.

Surprisingly, the scarred skeleton listened to him. He had to bend his neck to accommodate the shorter skeleton, but before Carrot had the time to spur himself into a panic, the cracked skull was where he wanted it to be - right in front of him. 

With a shaky breath, he did the same as before. He held his patient’s head with one hand gently placed on his forehead, and the other one was already on the back of his skull, magic shining weakly, ready to use. As soon as he directed his healing towards the injury, something in the other skeleton’s posture relaxed a little.

It was weird again. The pose the other skeleton ended up seemed... submissive. Carrot didn’t know how to feel about that, so he decided not to think about it at all. He had healing to focus on. Yes.

The silence that hung in the air since he started his magical ministrations turned from awkward to somewhat bearable after a while. Carrot knew he couldn’t last long this time, so he made sure to pour every last bit of his intent he was able to find into the process.

“You hungry?” he asked in a soft tone when he felt the familiar pang of exhaustion in his soul. “Cause I’m starvin’...”

Some additional energy would do them both good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> Don't hesitate to let me know how you think our boys are doing so far!


	3. “If ya two even think ‘bout double crossin’ me, imma find another way to yer dumb little universe and bash yer heads in, got it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a part of the NaNo challenge, I've been writing 500 words every day in my fics as per RN Jesus' pick. It seemed that the universe wanted me to write more about our lord and savior spicyhoney, so here's the long-awaited continuation of my take on their story.
> 
> We get to meet the other fell brother! Yay!
> 
> ... yay?
> 
> Oh.

“What? _No_ . I’m _not_ doing that,” the big skeleton growled at him in an offended tone, his red eye lights shining menacingly.

Carrot almost choked on the bite of food he just threw into his mouth. The other’s aggressive attitude that emerged in the least expected moments was still catching him off guard even though he got a little more comfortable around his horrible patient.

He hit his sternum with a fist and coughed. “Why?” Carrot asked when he was able to talk.

He was sitting in front of the big bad skeleton on the small tuffet he dragged from the other end of the room and tried to conduct a few simple exercises to check how badly the head injury affected him. The other, however, had proven _difficult_. Not that it was something that surprised Carrot anymore.

“This is a joke, isn’t it?” the injured skeleton scoffed at him. “You’re messing with me.”

“Why would I mess with you like this?” it was Carrot’s turn to be offended. “First of all, that would be _cruel_. And secondly...” his voice trailed off when he forgot where he was going with it and he dropped his hands into his lap. “I’m really tired... We’re almost done here, promise.”

The angry skeleton deflated a little, dropping his angry attitude (for now). “... Alright,” he muttered begrudgingly and lifted his arm to touch his own nasal bone with a finger. He did the same with the other hand and made a face that would be funny if Carrot wasn’t already fantasizing about sliding to the floor and sleeping under the coffee table.

“Good... I guess that works fine,” he let out a sigh in response and turned to look at the table. 

He wasn’t hungry anymore but couldn’t help himself from taking another french fry from the plate he brought from the kitchen - every bit of energy he could stuff into himself was a good idea. Thankfully, his patient was eating too, albeit with hesitation at first. Carrot was honestly worried he would have to coax the other skeleton into eating anything he brought but it seemed a short display that the food wasn’t _poisoned_ was enough.

“Does the healing exhaust you so much?” the question rang in the air and Carrot barely registered it at first.

When it finally reached those parts of his mind that weren’t half asleep, he had to stop himself from wincing. Yeah, no. He wasn’t going to discuss his tiny soul and how little energy he had for everyday life with a stranger. Especially _that_ stranger.

Rubbing his face with the least greasy hand, he just muttered “...it’s been a long day already,” in hopes to dodge the question.

A blessed silence followed and he felt a little lighter knowing that it worked. 

Not really hoping this idea will appeal to the other skeleton (again), Carrot grabbed a book that was lying next to the plate and enticingly slid it across the table. 

“Maybe try readin’ it out loud?” he suggested. “That’s the last thing I wanna check.”

The other skeleton took the book and opened it up after just a moment of hesitation. Absent-mindedly, Carrot wondered whether his patient even knew how to read. He should, right? Or are their alphabets different?

This didn’t turn out to be an issue. The rough voice of the other skeleton filled the air in the living room as he started reading the first sentence he found. Carrot leaned on the table and cradled his chin in his hand to watch his patient from a slightly more comfortable position.

The big skeleton stuttered a few times in the beginning and made an annoyed noise at some point before he went back to fluent reading. His hands clenched on the hardcover of the book and Carrot noticed (for the fourth time since the red gloves came off) that the phalanges of the other skeleton were longer and the tips were sharp. Figured that even his hands could be used as a weapon. All of him was very pointy and rough, from the demeanor to the claws and voice.

Carrot wondered whether his eyes weren’t deceiving him and his patient really seemed tense all the time. Not counting the moments he was getting healed, that is. Maybe being alone and without memory in a foreign world, literally one universe from home, was making him nervous. Carrot knew he would be panicking if something like this happened to him. 

“... aren’t you going to check it?” the other skeleton barked at Carrot, snapping him from a sleepy daze. 

He straightened his back and barely stopped himself from yawning. “It’s fine, from what I hear. You can stop. The only issue I see is your memory... and eye lights,” he provided his how professional diagnosis.

The other frowned and raised his hand as if to touch his own eye sockets. He didn’t do that though, stopping mid gesture and closing the book with a loud thwack. “What about my eye lights?”

Carrot made a vague gesture at the general direction of his patient’s face. “They’re flickerin’ sometimes. But I dunno if that’s somethin’ bad or just a sign of a concussion. We gotta wait and see.”

“And how do you know it’s not something I’ve had before?” Said eyes squinted at him, the big skeleton’s voice getting a tad lower but still with no sign of an angry note. “You said my reading is _‘fine’_.”

“I’ve seen you before. Your eyes were _fine_ then so...,” Carrot admitted and shrugged. “It’s a guess.”

“We’ve met?” the big skeleton’s brow bones rose up in a new expression that Carrot didn’t have a chance to see yet.

“Uh... yeah..,” Carrot responded and looked away. He felt the scar on his humerus itch once again with the phantom pain. Even tired, he knew discussing that particular meeting was a very bad idea. “For... a short moment.”

Before any follow-up questions were voiced, they both turned their heads in unison to look at the front door. The sound of heavy footsteps and a one-sided conversation announced that Carrot’s brother was back. The gruff and unpleasant voice that answered Berry’s rather excited tone suggested he wasn’t alone either.

“And, we’re here!” Berry announced as the door swung open. “Please, come in!”

The other person let out a scoff before answering in an irritated tone. “Yeah, nah. Get in first.”

“Okay,” the stocky skeleton said without missing a beat and entered the living room with a big smile on his face. His attention quickly moved to the scarred skeleton sitting on the couch. “I brought your brother, see? Everything is going to be alright.”

On impulse, Carrot looked over his brother from head to toes, looking for injuries or any signs that he got himself into more trouble than he could handle. Nothing seemed off though. He was fine. Miraculously.

Only then he switched his focus to an equally short but much less pleasant looking skeleton monster that entered their house right behind Berry. His clothes seemed too big for him but somehow made him look wider in comparison to the other shorter skeleton. He had a few scars on his face and the eye lights shining sharply with red. 

He took in the room and then glared at Carrot who in turn didn’t like the look he got. It was something between aggressive and disgusted. Which, of course, immediately put his already fried and tired nerves back on high alert. 

Thankfully, his searing attention didn’t last too long as he turned to look at his own brother. Who in turn looked back with the same scowling expression he had when he talked to Berry. That staring contest lasted for a moment and Carrot wasn’t sure whether the big skeleton didn’t recognize his own brother - he hoped this would jump-start his memories after all - or he was waiting for _something_.

“A’ight, _beanpole_ ,” the gruff skeleton took his hand out of the oversized pocket to wave at the other. His voice was still unpleasant but also annoyingly carefree. Did he not worry about him? “Ya finished yer business here?”

A silence fell in the living room, with the scarred skeleton staring back at the newcomer with a small frown between his brow bones. Or more like a slightly deeper frown added to his default scowl. 

Carrot noticed that Berry started impatiently wriggling in his spot, probably already unhappy about how the whole scene was unfolding. He didn’t try to chime in though, which was good. Something told him it might be a bad idea to intervene this time.

Finally, the unpleasant skeleton squinted and raised his voice in a more aggressive tone. “Ya heard me, _beanpole_? Or did yer fucken ears fell off?”

The injured skeleton didn’t answer right away. His malfunctioning eye lights flickered to Carrot and Berry for a second. “What... business?” he asked.

“... shit,” the gruff skeleton swore under his breath and grimaced a little.

“I said I’m sorry! I really am!” Berry called out, clearly not able to stand the tension thick in the room. 

He responded with a flippant wave of the hand. “A’ight. Show me the Surface,” his attention moved fully to Berry. “I ain’t gonna believe that shit until I see it.”

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Carrot slowly stood up from his tuffet. He tried to ignore the fact that his hands were trembling. “Wait. What... what about your brother?”

“What ‘bout him?” the newcomer spared him just a short glance. “He’s _useless_ to me now.”

Something in that tone made the pathetic rest of Carrot’s magic boil in his bones. He clenched his fists and even dared to raise his voice. “How can you say that about your own brother? He’s not useless, he’s _injured_!”

Those words alone were enough to gain the full attention of their new guest and there was a second Carrot thought the other skeleton was going to maul him on the spot. With a vicious sneer and eye lights burning bright with rage, he took two heavy steps towards him and pointed at his chest with a sharp tip of a claw.

“Same. Fucken’. Thing!”

At some point of that aggressive display, the discussed injured skeleton managed to stand up. His balance was still compromised but that didn’t stop him from towering over Carrot and the other skeleton. Carrot instinctively curled up in his spot, suddenly feeling suffocated by how little space there was between all three of them.

“Hey, calm down, we’re trying to help! And _you_ should sit down, you’re still not well!” Berry interjected immediately but was ignored. 

Their new and extremely unpleasant guest just glared at the other similarly unpleasant skeleton, a frown mixed into his aggressive scowl. For some unfathomable reason, he seemed to be the biggest person in there, with his wide dark clothes looking like a black hole in the middle of a bright and warm living room.

This wasn’t good. Carrot was beginning to feel light-headed. 

“I’m serious!” Berry raised his voice in his indeed serious tone. It made Carrot flinch.

A moment later, the burly skeleton lowered his shoulders and dropped the aggressive stance as if it never happened. “Tch... I ain’t got time for ya wussies.”

He rolled his eye lights and looked at Berry. “Surface. Right fucken _now_. Not gonna repeat myself.”

The other skeleton didn’t seem too happy or eager to do that but extended his gloved arm towards him. “Fine. Grab me.”

Which he did, with yet another flippant scoff - a sound Carrot would quickly learn to hate as soon as he’d have a chance to calmly process the whole situation.

Berry cast one last look at his brother and with a deep sigh, he disappeared, taking the unwelcome guest with him. The smell of magic filled the air in the living room, engulfing Carrot and his patient. 

They were gone.

Unable to say anything, Carrot looked to the scarred skeleton, only to stifle a yelp when the other suddenly caught him by the shoulder. His patient leaned heavily on him and since he was startled and unprepared, they both almost toppled to the floor.

“Uh, you... ok there?” he asked in a thin voice as soon as he managed to get his own balance back.

The other skeleton’s eye lights seemed to be flickering again but his gaze managed to focus on Carrot for just a second. And then he looked away. 

“I’m fine,” the scarred monster huffed, his voice betraying that was quite the opposite.

Not having the energy to discuss this obvious lie with his horrible patient, Carrot just nodded at this statement and lead the other skeleton back to the couch. The bigger monster almost collapsed on the cushions and leaned away from him, severing any physical contact they had.

Seeing that his patient kept his gaze averted, Carrot decided it would be best to try and give the other skeleton some space... and maybe seek refuge in the kitchen to unwind on his own, too. With this idea in mind, he awkwardly grabbed the plate with sad remains of their greasy meal. 

“I’ll... I’ll take care of this,” he muttered and waited for a response, most likely an objection.

When no such thing came, Carrot nodded to himself and evacuated to the other room. 

With a heavy sigh, he put the plate into the sink and turned the faucet on to soak the grease and ketchup. A soft murmur of falling water wasn’t as soothing as he hoped though. His thoughts kept spinning wildly in his head, reminding him how much of a headache the whole situation was.

He didn’t like what he saw just then, between those two strange skeletons. All the pointy aggression aside - and stars, both of them were terrifying -  that guy simply left his brother here. Discarded him for being ‘useless’. That was _horrible_. Carrot couldn’t understand that.

He turned around to look at the couch through the kitchen door to check on his patient. He was still there, with his head hanging low enough for the ugly crack to be on display. He seemed... somehow hopeless. Carrot felt a pang of sympathy in his soul, even though the scarred skeleton still terrified the hell out of him. 

How would he feel if Berry called him ‘useless’ and abandoned him somewhere? He shuddered and shook his head to get rid of that thought. That seemed like the stuff of nightmares if he had to be honest and he had enough of those already. There was no need for him to fuel them even more.

He turned back to the sink and took care of the plate. After that, he didn’t feel like going back to the living room yet, so he stayed there, picking awkwardly at the neon band on his wrist and desperately trying _not_ to think about being in his patient’s shoes.

Minutes passed and Carrot remained in the uncomfortable silence until a familiar buzzing pulled him out of that grim train of thoughts. It turned out that his phone was behind one of the boxes stacked on the counter. That solved the mystery of where he left it.

“Yeah?” Carrot answered as soon as he saw that his brother was calling.

“Hey! Listen!” Berry’s voice rang cheerfully from the other side. “I took _the ball of sunshine and rainbows_ outside and he believed me.”

Carrot rolled his eye lights and let out a deep sigh. “Oh, hurray?” he said while leaning heavily on the counter.

“I think so too!” his brother responded with the same enthusiasm, probably ignoring Carrot’s tone. “He’s back in his universe already. He said something about figuring out how to move his people here. I’m heading to Tori to tell her about this... uh... glorious idea. The whole thing will probably take a while though, so don’t wait up?”

“That’s all great, bro, but what about...,” he lowered his voice, “... what about his brother? When is he gonna take him home?”

There was a short pause. “He’s not,” Berry deadpanned.

Carrot let out a dry chuckle. “... that’s not funny.”

“You know I’m not joking,” his brother responded in the same tone.

“But...”

“He’s staying with us, Paps. For now, ok?” Berry decided.

Carrot frowned. “We can’t just-”

“Just _trust_ me on this,” he interrupted him again.

Carrot closed his parted teeth with a soft clack. There was this odd note in his brother’s voice and he didn’t like it one bit. He wanted to ask about that but something told him Berry would try to avoid answering altogether.

“Paps...?” Berry’s voice echoed on the phone.

“I...,” Carrot began in a reluctant tone and turned again to look at the scarred skeleton sitting on their couch. Hurt. Abandoned. With no memories. “Okay. He stays with us. But...”

Berry patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts.

“I’m tired, bro. Exhausted. I just... I just want to be outside already... and now this mess happened and...,” he took in a shaky breath, hoping he’s not gonna break down now because of all of this.

His brother took a deep breath himself and spoke in a soothing tone. “I know, Papyrus. We’re almost there.”

Carrot closed his eye sockets for a moment.

“Hey, how about I’ll take you upstairs tomorrow? For a few deep breaths and a short tan?” Berry suggested.

Oh, that was tempting. Going outside, leaving the unending stacks of boxes behind, getting free of the suffocating air of the Underground, seeing the sky, the stars, the sun... 

Too tempting. 

Carrot was sure he would cry if he had to go back after that short visit. He barely stopped himself the last time he was up there.

He shook his head. “Nah... I’m... I’m good. I can wait those... few more days.”

“Okay! But the offer still stands. Maybe if our guest feels better, we can take him there together?” Berry’s voice finally turned back to the usual enthusiastic one.

“Sounds like a plan, bro,” Carrot managed to force himself to smile a little.

“Oh! I gotta go! It’s my turn to bug Tori. See ya!” the other quickly announced and hung up not waiting for him to answer.

Carrot stared at the phone for a while, battling his own emotions that were very eager to spill right now. He was so very tired.

“Alright...,” he took another deep breath to calm himself down and stuffed the phone in his pocket before leaving the kitchen. He had some sleeping arrangements to take care of.

The other skeleton didn’t budge the whole time, and for a moment Carrot thought he just fell asleep in that very uncomfortable position. He wondered about waking him up but he quickly remembered what happened the last time he did something to the sleeping monster. Still, he leaned a little closer.

“Uh... you asleep?” he asked cautiously and took a step back when the scarred skeleton lifted his head. “Oh, good. I... well... you’re stayin' here for the night, so I thought that maybe... maybe you’d be comfier on a bed? I could use some z’s too.”

The monster stared at him for a second and shook his head. “I don’t have any other choice, do I?”

Carrot frowned at the tone he used. “You _always_ have a choice,” he insisted. ”If you wanna, I can take you to the inn. It’s not that far. We could... we could also wait for my bro to return later and he can take you to the hospital upstairs... or... you know...”

As he heard himself speak, he understood that those choices wouldn’t seem that appealing if he was in a similar situation. He couldn’t in clear conscience let the monster just go back to his world though, so he didn’t even mention this possibility.

“You can pick the room you wanna sleep in, too?” he tried to smile at his patient if only to distract him from the idea of manhandling his way to the other universe. 

Thankfully, the other skeleton gave him only a short but resigned nod.

It turned out that there was indeed not much of a choice for both of them. Berry’s room was filled with boxes and items waiting for their turn to be properly packed. All Carrot saw was a very narrow path to the bed that could prove hazardous to his guest if he needed something. The scarred skeleton seemed like he was barely standing anyway, so there was no way this room was good for him. 

He led the big monster to his own room, where he had to leave him for a while to search for a clean blanket and pillow. Nothing happened during his absence and soon he was finally able to close the door behind him.

Carrot collapsed on the couch, stacks of folded shirts or no, and curled up in hopes he would be able to sleep and rest. The whole day felt like it lasted years and left him so exhausted he was out in a second.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


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